The charming compilation lands on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One tomorrow, so we checked in with the lovely folks over at Activision to see if they could shed some light on why the Switch version has seemingly gone AWOL.

Here's what they were able to share with us right now:

We're excited that even more Spyro fans will have the opportunity to experience the franchise on PS4 and XB1 platforms. We do not have any other platforms to announce at this time.

While this statement doesn't say that a Switch version is coming in the immediate future, it hasn't be ruled out for good, either. As Activision found success with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on the Switch, we can only imagine it will be a matter of time.

Let's hope that 2019 is the year for Spyro on the Switch; let us know if you'd like to play this collection on your Nintendo console by posting a comment below.

Darren is Nintendo Life’s Batman: fearless in the face of danger, he loves gadgets and talking in a really, really deep voice. As Operations Director he stays mostly behind the scenes in a room he insists on calling “The Batcave”.

@Orpheus79V Given that the second and third games need to be downloaded on PS4 and X1 (only the first game is on disc) I would assume an eventual Switch version will not be on the receiving end of DOOM level compression.

@Kamalen Crash made the transfer alright. Spyro would be roughly the same.

Translates to "Please buy this game on the Xbox One and PS4 and be pleasantly surprised when we later reveal it is coming to your desired platform of choice so you can double dip and give us even more money."

@Megadeth You are trolling, right?? Switch will have sold around 60 million by the time the next gen arrives. Do you think third parties will want to skip such big amount of potencial consumers for a new console with no installed base?? No way!

It was slightly different with Crash as that was initially a PS4 exclusive but I honestly don't see any reason at all why this isn't being released for the Switch at the same time (if they do release it of course)

With half of the other two games getting chopped out, I too wouldn't want this on Switch anyways. Of course this could be just Nintendo telling Activision to hold their tongue regarding the game as they may have save any announcement of that game for a future Nintendo Direct which I was told may either happen before Christmas or after the New Year.

@the_beaver most third party games don't come to the Switch now, the install base has nothing to do with it. The Switch is simply too far behind what most AAA developers are creating right now. I like my Switch but you have to have realistic expectations, even the standard Xbox One is starting to be left behind in performance terms in many of the biggest games.

As for Spyro I suspect it will still be coming to Switch and Nintendo are likely to be the ones announcing it but I wouldn't expect it until well into next year, in the meantime I'll get it on PS4

Spyro is my childhood, I don't know how many times I wished they remade it. And that dream came true...except I don't have the right console to play it. I'm pretty sure it will come out for Switch eventually though. Didn't Sony and Microsoft strike some sort of deal that makes Spyro exclusive to their platforms for a year or so?

@the_beaver No he is not trolling. Production cost does not justify making a Switch port when they have to turn a 4k game to a 720p game with choppy framerate which bring more criticism thatn praise. Even now you are not getting most of the AAA tittles like Fallout, RDR2 etc. System specs is very important for AAA developers. They even skipped 100 million install base of Wii.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Just as Crash was a timed PS4 exclusive, most likely Spyro is just a timed exclusive for pure home consoles only. Spyro for Switch will likely come out next year along with the PC version.

My impression has long been that the PS1 Spyro games were better than the Crash trilogy. (I bought the Crash trilogy on Switch and sold it within a week.) I wouldn't mind seeing this collection come to Switch.

@derickw69 Crash came a year later than the PS4 version only, and at the same time as the PC and Xbox One. Crash definitely had an exclusivity deal, Spyro doesnt, though it's not coming to PC, which is weird.

"What happened to..."A game people got over excited about even though it was never announced? A game that went through weird development that made 2/3 of the game a download, and the whole game is enormous for no apparent reason?

I think to a degree companies test the waters with reactions on other, cheaper to develop platforms, and then if the game sells well enough, brings it to Switch. Plus since nobody does Switch in-house and has to outsource to Panic Button or a few others, I imagine it takes a lot longer to get the game out as those companies work through their backlog of work.

As much as I'd love to play this trilogy on the switch... I'm not holding my breath for a port in the near future after they announced the file size for PS4 was around 60Gb... I'm pretty sure the switch cartridges are only 32Gb at the moment if I remember rightly?

I'm a huge fan of the original spyro trilogy and I have been for practically my whole life. It was a great game for its time and it was really fun to to speedrun once I got into that. From the beginning I've been absolutely positive that Spyro will come to the switch sooner or later. It's a really good console, super versatile and I feel like the game would perform really well on it. But the big questions seem to be when it's coming to the switch, and why it's not coming at the same time as xbox and PlayStation.

As for the why question, I think I can shed some light. If you look up Jordan Fringe on Youtube and locate his video about spyro on the switch, he explains everything he was told by toys for bob about why it's not going to be on the switch or PC just yet. In short, they want to make sure they get the games right across all platforms, so they wanted to focus on the two platforms they initially started working on it. Now that the games are out on ps4 and xbox, the switch and pc versions will soon follow. For more details you should check out his video because he does a really good job of explaining it.

Personally, I didn't trust toys for bob at first (considering they made the abomination that is Skylanders), but the trailers and all the inside info i got from YT channels covering the game got me super psyched for the remaster. I don't mind waiting a little longer for the game to come out on a platform I own, as long as I know it is eventually coming, which I'm certain it is.

As per the article (it even had a link) it was on the official order page AND it was listed on Nintendo's official store. 1 of those may have been inadvertent but I think both of those adds up to announced.

And what does "announced" mean anyway? How many games were announced and discussed over and over again for Wii U that never came anyway? Yooka-Laylee, Project Cars, Kerbling Space Simulator.

So sure, a lot people want a lot of games on Switch that will likely never come, but this isn't one of those, it was listed twice in two official places. Plus Crash came later, so this will probably come later too. Maybe before Switch gets DQXI and that game was announced back when Switch was still the NX. 😛

It's a good article, let's just leave it at that, it's a rarity these days. 😉

@the_beaver I know what you're getting at but Skyrim and Dark Souls were last gen games whilst the Id tech engine in Doom and Wolfenstein has huge scalability built into it for PC users and even then struggles on Switch. The RE engine doesn't even support the Switch and Resident Evil 2 is looking amazing so I doubt that'll work on Switch and certainly MH World wouldn't, Capcom are well aware of the Switch's capabilities so I'm sure they'd bring their games if they could. Best case scenario for Switch for these is streaming as already seen with Resident Evil VII and Assassin's Creed. Unfortunately the Switch is a bit too far behind in all aspects of its hardware but I suspect that Spyro likely will appear on Switch as remasters of older games are certainly more viable.

The shame for us isn't that these games cant/won't be ported, it's that big developers don't try to make games just for the Switch in the first place and use it's unique abilities. Also I wish these big developers would start to make new smaller games like we used to get, rather than just focus on these 60 odd hour slogs that we get today and most get bored before the end anyway.

Switch is already 2 years old. By the time PS4 cames out, it will be 3-4 years old. A couple of years after that, the switch successor will come out most likely. The true matchup will be the Switch successor vs the PS5, just like the matchup is Switch vs PS4 now. And expect a long cross-gen period where releases are on PS4/Xbox One and the next consoles...probably even longer than the last one.

Switch 2 vs PS5 will likely make cross-porting even less difficult than PS4 and Switch. That is the trend with mobile hardware getting closer and closer to home console - compare GBC vs N64 and then compare a Switch version of Wolfenstein 2 to Wolfenstein 2 on the PS4.

@rjejr Well technically that listing wasn't for Spyro Trilogy: Reignited. It was for Spyro the Dragon Remastered. The original project before they halted, delayed, and decided to make it a trilogy, with 2/3 of it a download. The size is probably the issue here. Not sure that can be reconciled.

I doubt there will be a Switch version of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Activision didn't bother to invest in triple layer Blu-Ray discs, or span out to two or three standard Blu-ray discs. Granted, it is not a standard to use bigger or more discs and it cost more money but the thing is, Activision has money...they are a multi-billion dollar company. Activision can afford to give Toys For Bob the budget to make their game fit on discs. If Activision is not willing fork out the money for full retail copies instead cobbling them together with patches, Activision will most likely not compress the game for the Switch. Sure, they did it with Crash Bandicoot but it was only 23 GB on PS4 before it was compressed to 5 GB for the Switch. Spyro is a whopping 64 GB on PS4 and 42 GB on XBox One. Sure, you could argue Bethesda did compress DOOM onto the Switch which has an average size around 40 GB on other platforms but it all comes down to money and Bethesda was willing to take the risk. If Activision is not willing to invest into producing full retail copies of Spyro: Ignited Trilogy. I doubt they are willing to spend the money to compress such a large game. Perhaps if it was a smaller business publishing Spyro, I would give them a pass but that is not the case. Also, do you really want a crappier version of this game anyways, I sure don't.

@Axlroselm there is a difference between switch and Wii in that the consumers buy the games (and a lot of them). As the hardware numbers raise I am expecting more and more third party on board. Let's see the next year who's correct.

@PCkid
"This is a problem now but it would become a huge problem when PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will be there."
Really is that the best that can be said? I doubt you will have the $$ then want you to pay for it at those soaring prices. Consider a 500$ xbox and ask the price will be 600$ in 2019. And where do you think the problem will be then.

@rjejrsigh "New Swich".....I'm sure the 12MHz overclocked CPU will really make a big difference in getting 80GB games running on an SD card....

It's sad, though, that a PS2 game gets remastered in such a way that it suddenly can't run easily on a Switch....which is light years ahead of the PS2 hardware the game has been running on for decades.... Talk about bad design.

However, there are still many things that don't add up to this statement. The "switch or switch?" meme this game spawned, the "I can't comment right now" non-comment the Toys For Bob rep came up with upon port begging by IGN, the initial accidental Nintendo UK Store listing...

"I just want it to end. Aren't you tired?"

From this midnight onwards, I'll still be able to play the game: I gave in and bought it on Xbox One. It's not the one console that I want to play Spyro on, but still a console that will allow me to do so.All I want is the rumor mill to just end. A definitive yes or no, so that I can come to terms with either answer.

I’m starting to give up with Nintendo. This year has been almost identical to the Wii U, apart from the obvious failure of the console, but game wise it’s the same magical flamingos. Oh we can’t bring this to the switch for this reason, or it’s delayed for that reason. Being a Nintendo fan is tough work.

@sketchturner Two things of note here. First, compression on Switch games is insane and second, that huge download probably includes the massive 4k textures, which Switch would not need. Just the 1080p textures would shrink the file size dramatically.

@KingdomHeartsFan Maybe next time Nintendo will play catch-up and use more than 32GB of system storage. Or not use an expensive storage medium unit that forces developers to charge more for a game because of the price on the cartridges.

There have been numerous times where publishers say they have "no plans" for the Switch /Switch version but i their game came out anyway. They can compress the Switch version, so I'm not worried about storage.

This is the same bog standard default auto-response every dev gives when they want you to think no other version is coming so you go purchase these versions, then after sales die down it's heyheyheeeeyyy, looky here, a Switch version! My apologies if that means you'll be double dipping 🤑

Everyone knows the game is coming. But they can't say that just yet, obviously.

If you'd rather play it on Switch, best to hold on to your cash for now.

I plan on getting it on my PS4 (even though I am more of an Xbox and Nintendo fan), because the original trilogy was exclusive to the PS1, but I would love to get it for the Switch if and hopefully when it launches for that system.

Heck, I already got Undertale on Steam, and I got that for the Switch, as well.

But I just hope that this will usher in a new era of Spyro games that take place within the original continuity, taking place after Shadow Legacy for the DS (the final game in the original continuity), and ignores the continuity of The Legend of Spyro Trilogy (which I did love) and Skylanders (which I have not played and never will).

Yaaa, I'm gonna have to call BS on that. Either you weren't actually there for the Wii U (I was, and Wii U owners would have killed to have a lineup like Switch got this year) or you're just intentionally spinning the narrative (which is generous, tbf it's just downright lying).

And that's not even beginning to account for the endless lineup of top rated indies pouring onto the platform faster than people can keep up (and I'm not talking the dime a dozen "decent" indies, I'm talking the creme de la creme top 1%), from Limbo and Inside to Hyper Light Drifter, Dead Cells, Overcooked 2, Hollow Knight, Guacamelee, Bastion, Transistor, Marble It Up, Into the Breach ,The Messenger, Flinthook, Owlboy, Darkest Dungeon, Celeste, Shantae Pirate's Curse, Rive, Runner 3, etc

It's one thing to say you personally didn't enjoy this year on Switch. And that's fine. You've got your taste in games and playstyles, and if nothing in that long list of quality titles interested you (for whatever reason, whether you played a game before or you just aren't interested), nobody is going to question you on that. Nor do I think anyone cares. But to state this year was "almost identical to Wii U" is a verifiable falsehood. The fact every single one of those games broke new ground as first ever hybrid version, and for the vast majority, first handheld version period, means the excitement from each and every release has been doubly pronounced.

Modern gaming is full of crap. Devs are going to smartphones now!!. Why must it be a port? The gba is weaker compared to ps2, games still came for it. The nds is weaker to the ps3..yet games still came out for it.....the switch is weaker to the ps4........oh crap.... there will be NO games because its weak.....................................Wtf devs????

I did and I got Joycon and WiFI issues. Another strange thing that I never heard of, is that my Switch is not straight when docked.This is not a problem to play but it looks so "low quality". It's almost like I see only that when I sit on my couch.

You see, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony I buy their products at launch. There is a two years warranty on each.

@Xaisu
Like JaxonH, I call this one BS-comment. If you bought a WiiU, you would have been sitting on glowing coals every year to get anything usable, but just appetizers over and over again besides some bigger exclusives. The third party-support was horrible from the beginning. Not to speak at the end.

Since Playstation 2 I didn´t play that much on a console like on Nintendo Switch. 2018 wasn´t great when it comes to exclusives while there still are some big ones. But the third party-support is the best since Wii and probably has already surpassed the GameCube. It´s second year of the Switch and there are more third-party-games released in 2018 than probably in the whole WiiU generation.

You shouldn´t blame Nintendo for lazy publishers. It´s obvious that Activision tries to cheat customers with Spyro. Even on the other systems they tried to cut retail versions by forcing partly digital downloads. Activision is to blame here for there untrustworthy release politics.

@PCkid
That's a completely separate argument than "it's as bad as Wii U". And a subjective one.

While I did think Kirby was mediocre, Mario Tennis Aces was amazing, Octopath was amazing, Monster Hunter is one of the greatest games I've ever played, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is incredible, etc etc

A truly objective person though, would never arbitrarily limit the quality of a lineup based on "only games that fall in this category". And some of the best games on Switch dont need to be "brand new" to make the library amazing. People buying up Diablo 3 in droves dont care if its "brand new" or not. Its brand new on handheld and hybrid, and it's a great game... that's all they care about.

The quality of a library is how many great games it offers that people want. As long as people want a game, it doesn't matter how new it is. Besides which, not every game falls into a neat little "new" or "old" category. Civilization VI isn't new on PC but on console the Switch release is an exclusive debut, brand new for console gamers. And DB Fighter Z and Wolfenstein 2 released with a 6-9 month delay. Is that now "technically old" and thus rendered unimportant? No. Games release with delays like that on PC all the time. Nobody cares. They're still considered as new as any other game.

So ya, if one wishes to spin narrative, you can "disqualify" a ton of releases on technicalities. Which makes sense in a console war debate, but makes little sense with regard to actual practical appeal.

I don’t see it as being an issue. PS4 and XB1 will continue to get lots of multiplats after their successors launch (like PS3/360 got COD, Watch Dogs, Shadows of Mordor, Alien Isolation etc). And let’s be honest, if there’s money to be made the Switch will get ports.

And I say that’s as someone who doesn’t care what PS4 ports reach the Switch and doesn’t think it needs them to be Successful.

Clearly, Activision doesn't like money. They brought the Crash trilogy to all three console platforms but it was the Switch version that outsold all the rest. This likely would have repeated had they done the same with Spyro, especially considering Spyro has more of a history with Nintendo hardware than Crash Bandicoot did.

@Discostew Irregular performance and downgraded visuals in, as I have already said (did you read it?), a linear 3D world with many 2D levels. Don't you see Spyro is more complex and that the remake is also high-quality? Have you seen any videos of the Xbox/PS version?

@BlueOcean
I am speaking of Yooka Laylee. What does make Spyro more demanding than a game like Yooka Laylee? Yooka Laylee has the same demanding graphics and the same open level structures and still runs on Switch.

@BlueOcean Yes, I have seen footage of the other versions, and yet the Switch version has been shown to keep up in performance. Is it downscaled? Of course, but the game still looks good and is VERY playable. Being linear means nothing here. Seriously, the game is based on the original that ran on a PS1. It's a remaster. Much of what was added in is fluff. Fluff that can be trimmed down.

Same can be said about Spyro. They're not trying to change the formula. They're trying to present a classic with a modern coat of paint. Seriously, this whole deal about linear design and free-roam is mute when they've been doing these things for generations on far weaker hardware than what we have today.

Lol: ign gave it a big score, but the only thing people are talking about is the "2 of the 3 games download only scam", wich the reviewer didn't even mention (shame on him). I guess it will bomb, and if this also happens on the Switch version I won't get it either!

@EasyDaRon Spyro and Crash look more impressive to me than Yooka-Laylee but it all depends on how they downgrade the visuals, I should have added that to my comment. You are technically right, Spyro could run on Switch, but if Crash was downgraded so much imagine Spyro, a more open game.

@Discostew Yes, they are originally PS games. No, it's not a lick of paint. Crash Bandicoot N.sane Trilogy's gorgeous visuals were vastly downgraded on Switch, imagine Spyro Reignited Trilogy which has more open worlds and the same level of AAA visuals.

@BlueOcean Being open world means nothing in this case. As it is, you're trying to argue that Spyro is seeing an improvement over Crash because it's going from linear design to open world, yet why is it that can only be attributed to the PS4/XB1 and not a possible Switch version? Going from linear design to open world is not even a graphical change. It's how the engine handles things, and if the engine used for Spyro is based on the one used for Crash, then that already grants favor towards a Switch version. Fact is, for what was downscaled with Crash on Switch, it still holds up really well. No one is expecting the Switch to handle PS4/XB1 details, but the design of the games allow a bit of trimming and still look good even on weaker hardware.

Let's not forget another little fact. Crash wasn't even set for Switch until one developer spent his weekend getting the 1st level running on it, and it ran it well. Switch is more capable than you give it credit. It's just not a PS4/XB1.

@Discostew "you're trying to argue that Spyro is seeing an improvement over Crash because it's going from linear design to open world, yet why is it that can only be attributed to the PS4/XB1 and not a possible Switch version?"

I am no trying to argue that. YouTube videos don't show the massive level of detail and advanced lighting that the games have. If you could see Crash on Xbox One X you'd understand. The river levels for example. Spyro uses another engine but the visuals are similarly detailed.

I'll say one last time yes, technically Switch could run almost any game if you downgrade the visuals and I never said the opposite. The results aren't always great though. Sometimes resolution gets so low that the game is blurry (Wolfenstein II on Switch) and sometimes the game has performance drops (Crash on Switch). There is a video on Digital Foundry analysing the performance. Spyro on Switch would look and perform worse. I am not happy about that, just wondering if the developers would bother and how would it be.

@BlueOcean You're bringing up the 4K machines when they aren't even the baseline targets for the games. Of course they'll look superior. Wolfenstein II on Switch got a patch recently on Switch that bumped up performance and visual quality to get pretty close to the XB1 version (but remains at 30fps).

You mention DF, and yes, they mention the many different things that got cut back in the Switch port of Crash, but they also said, and I quote "With all those changes, you'd kinda expect the Switch version to look rather poor, but as you've no doubt seen, the results are still pretty good. It's a step down from other versions, but it still kinda holds up. It's a nice looking game." They touched on this earlier by mentioning the game itself is styled like a cartoon, which allows cutbacks and still manages to look good. Spyro is in that same territory. Maybe this is just a personal standards thing where you find the game to be poor whereas others, including DF themselves, think it's still good when all things are considered.

You're right about the engine though. They aren't using the same thing. However, the Spyro games are using UE4, which is fully supported on the Switch, and the engine on Switch has seen a LOT of visual and performance improvements.

@1_21Gigamatts sup. Unfortunately, no. I first saw it in the Amino app, and then reverse image searched to find the source, but I couldn't I only found a higher Res from someone on twitter. Tried searching for a Marie one too, but no luck. It may be that it comes from those japanese image sharing websites.

@RevampedSpider Because the download size is so huge on PS4 and Xbox One already, I don’t think they’ll be able to crunch it down to fit on a Switch cartridge. Besides, wasn’t that the original plan anyway?

I own a nintendo Switch and a Wii U, and the classic original black and green screened gameboy. I'm not a nintendo hater, I just know they use weak hardware, especially when compared to the ps4, and everything has weak hardware compared to the xbox one X.

Really I think it's the optimization part most of all. Maybe the Switch could run a VERY HIGHLY optimized version of the game. That's never going to exist. Ever.